If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the forum FAQ and the House Rules and Forum Guidelines.
You will have to register before you can post. If you find your registration is rejected, please try again using a different username. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

The Champion of Champions(league) - Game Thread

Hello and welcome to another Whoopy D production. I've once before taken a great idea for a sign-up that had failed in the past and turned it into a success and I hope to do the same again here....credit goes to super_lampard for the initial idea.

In this sign-up the aim is a very simple one: you have 32 seasons to win the Champions League as many times as possible.

Initially that may not seem so simple, in fact to some it would seem a very daunting task. However each of the 32 people that sign-up automatically secure themselves a place in one of the 32 teams competing in the Champions League. So for the first season that makes things pretty easy, at least one of our users will win the Champions League. But what about the second season? Well, there is no second season. Once the first season is over I restart the game and holiday through the season again therefore meaning after 32 seasons we will be guaranteed that one of our users has won the competition every time.

Now here's where it gets even better, every time the game re-starts you move to a different one of the 32 clubs. So it could be glory in the first season with Real Madrid followed by massive disappointment in the 2nd with Rangers . At the end of the 32 seasons hopefully one player will have truly made his mark on the competition and we will crown a winner.

It's always an exciting time, the opening day of the Champions League. There was an added sense of optimism this year though as we wait to see if our superstars have settled at their new clubs. And right from the start it was clear some of them had done just that, Bruton Gaster scored just 6 minutes into his Champions League debut and went on to double his tally in a 4-0 win over William Hall and Porto. In the other Group A game Charles Beams also got off to a flyer as he scored the 2nd in a 1-3 victory at Standard. Ihsaan Ahmed looked on course for a dream start to his Rangers career, he put them a goal ahead after 54 minutes but Liverpool and V.W. Delight fought back for a 1-2 win. Unfortunately for Mikael Scholer it was Edin Dzeko who was the star of the other game, the Wolfsburg striker smashed a hat-trick past our Danish 'keeper. In Group C, Craig Hopper was only deemed good enough to come off the bench for Besiktas and he was quickly back on it when he picked up an injury in a 0-0 draw with CSKA. In the other match Maz and FC Twente very nearly upset Barcelona and Kenco but a stoppage time goal saw it end 1-1. In Group D Tyler Burrows conceded a goal before being hauled off at half time, his Fiorentina side went on to beat Man Utd 2-1 and in the final game of the day Joe Tompkins watched on helplessly as Real Madrid smashed 4 past his side, although at least he had the chance to do something about it, unlike AJ Kerr who sat on the bench for the full 90 minutes.

Onto the Wednesday night games and in Group E it was Santi Marquez who scored a brace to inspire a comeback for Salzburg, they eventually ran out 3-1 winners over Olympiakos and Allan Juel Hansen. In Group F Jack Browne travelled with Inter to face off against Jan Klaas and Unirea, the Serie A side came away with a 0-3 win with neither of our players particularly shining. Lawrence Lazewski JR played for AZ in a 1-1 draw with Rubin and in the other Group G game Sam Fisher stole the show with 2 goals as Sevilla took 3 points from a trip to Bordeaux. Lastly Group H, Juventus and Levski fought to a 0-0 draw in Turin despite the efforts of both Fergy and Richard Lipscombe but it was the final game that was filled with excitement as Joeri Scheerlinck and his Atletico Madrid team demolished Bayern 4-0

.

Match Days 2-5 Summary

In Group A it's AC Milan who lead the way and are qualified with a game to spare, Charles Beams featured once more after his opening game but has been out injured since. In 2nd place and almost certain to go through are Porto, William Hall has played all 5 games and has been performing very well with the highlight being a goal in a 0-3 win against AC. Marseille sit in third place with a very slim chance of going through, Bruton Gaster has played 5 games now but only added one goal to his tally. In 4th place sit Standard who are out of the running even for a Europa League spot, Fatboy has now played 4 times but it's safe to say he's fighting a losing battle. In Group B Liverpool and Wolfsburg are already through, V.W. Delight scored in a 1-1 draw between the 2 sides as well as in a 0-5 rout against Slavia Prague and has played 4 times whilst Mr T has only played once for his club. Rangers sit 3rd largely thanks to Ihsaan Ahmed, he's scored 3 goals in 5 games including recently in a 1-2 loss to Liverpool and in a 0-4 win at Slavia Prague. As you've probably guessed it's not been much fun in goal for Mikael Scholer, he's played 5 times and conceded a massive 16 goals.

In Group C Barcelona are out in front and are already through, Kenco has played 5 times and scored once, the winner against Besiktas but is currently out for up to 2 months. Maz has inspired FC Twente into 2nd place, the midfielder has played 5 times and although he is yet to score is averaging a 7.2 and has come up with 1 assist. For some reason Besiktas are reluctent to use their best player, Craig Hopper has made 3 appearances but they've all come from the bench and this could be why they'll need a miracle to get through. Gunter Hess has yet to play for CSKA, it's possible he's not been registered for the competition because they seem to like using him in the league - 3 goals in 4 games for the Austrian. Man Utd lead the way in Group D, they've already qualified and though Lewis Davies has played all 5 games he's not done much of note. Real Madrid sit 2nd on the ladder although no thanks to AJ Kerr, he's played one game and conceded 5 goals against the Group leaders. Fiorentina are still in with a slim shot thanks to their sturdy defence, Tyler Burrows has played 5 games and only conceded 2 goals although that's partly down to often being subbed at half time. Unsurprisingly Debrecen sit bottom of the pile, Joe Tompkins has tried but only scored once in his 5 games.

Chelsea are running away with it in Group E, they're easily through but no thanks to Des Tiny who is yet to play in the Champions League and has barely played domestically either. It's a different story for Super Lampard who's scored twice now including one against his favourite club, impressive seeing as he's only played 3 games. Santi Marquez has only scored once since his impressive debut despite playing all 5 games, Salzburg are sitting in 3rd with an outside chance of qualifying . Olympiakos are bottom and despite his 5 appearances Allan Juel Hansen is yet to score or even have a good game really. Jack Browne has been in great form to help Inter to the top of Group F, 5 games, 1 goal and three assists have seen him become a key player. I suspect Ivan Matkovic is in a similar situation to Gunter Hess, the striker has scored 6 times in 9 games domestically but is yet to make his European debut, despite this Dinamo are 2nd in the Group. Lyon are another team who have failed to use their man, Patty Hitman has been on fire in his 7 league games but still no CL games for him. Unirea have done nothing so silly, Jan Klaas has played all 5 games and despite not being fantastic he does have their only goal of the competition in a 1-1 draw with Dinamo.

Group G is another one that is settled, Sevilla and Bordeaux are already through. Sam Fisher failed to score any more in his 2 additional appearances and has since been hit by injuries whilst Whoopy Dee'e has recovered from his and now played 3 times. It seems to be an injury plagued Group, Lawrence Lazewski has played 4 times but is now also on the sidelines as AZ have claimed their Europa League spot if nothing else. Mattie Short is another not being used by his club, in fact only one league game to date, perhaps they should play him more often as he pulled a 7.9! Finally Group H where Atletico Madrid have run away with it and are already qualified, Joeri Scheerlinck has been involved in all 5 games but boasts nothing of real note. Mario-Luigi van der etc has been absoloutely on fire for Bayern Munich so far, he's scored 3 goals and has 5 assists in 4 games and is currently averaging a 8.2 rating, if Bayern go through it'll be largely thanks to him. Pushing them all the way are Juventus with Fergy in almost as good form, 3 goals in 5 games including 2 against their German rivals. Lastly Richard Lipscombe has played 4 times for Levski but he's not doing so great, hardly surprising for a team who have scored only 2 goals.

Match Day Six

Bruton Gaster grabbed 2 goals to send AC Milan and Charles Beams down 0-2 but it made no difference as the Serie A side still go through 2nd to Porto who won 2-4 in a game involving both Fatboy and William Hall. Liverpool confirmed their place as Group winners with a 1-2 in Wolfsburg, Mr T played for the home team and will hope to play more after Christmas as the Germans join Liverpool in the next round. It's goodbye however to Mikael Scholer and Ihsaan Ahmed who both played in a 1-1 draw. FC Twente will manage a 2nd place finish following a 3-1 win against Besiktas, Maz scored twice for the home team with Craig Hopper grabbing the consolation goal. Joe Tompkins and Tyler Burrows both played in Italy and it was the home side who ran out 1-0 winners, Burrows was once again subbed at half time and it was to be his last action in the competition as Real Madrid go through in 2nd behind Man Utd after a 2-0 win for the Spainish club. Santi Marquez played his last game in the competition as well, a 0-0 draw with Sporting was enough to see the Portuguese side through behind Chelsea who beat Allan Juel Hansesns side 1-0. Jack Browne played again as Inter beat Dinamo 1-0, the away side still managed to scrape 2nd place though despite Lyons 0-3 win over Jan Klaas and Unirea. Whoopy Dee'e was the only player to get game time in his Group as Bordeaux emerged as 1-0 winners, enough to send them through top ahead of Sevilla. In Group H the battle of the inform strikers was full steam ahead as Juventus hosted Bayern, in the end neither of our players scored despite playing and the Germans ran out 0-2 winners to go through in 2nd behind Atletico who rested Joeri Scheerlink in a 4-3 win over Richard Lipscombe and Levski.

That update took a lot longer than I thought, will definitely have to cut them down in future if I want to get through this quickly.

So before we hit the first Knockout Round I thought I'd hit you all with some news from the January transfer window. I'll warn you now, it will make some of you want to cry and some others want to cry harder. Good news for 2 of you though.

Mr T ---> Fiorentina, £65k. From a team that are still in to a team who are now out.
William Hall ---> Chelsea. £16.5m. Technically a great move but seeing as he's cup tied he certainly won't be winning.
Bruton Gaster ---> Chelsea. £7.25m. From a team that are out to a team that are in but again is cup tied.
Jan Klaas ---> Chelsea. £10m. A massive improvement on his old side but again is cup tied.
Ivan Matkovic ---> Barcelona. £4.5m. A big move for him especially as he didn't play for Dinamo so might just win big.
Maz ---> Juventus. £5.25m. From a club that's in to a club that's out.
Mattie Short ---> Man Utd. £10.75. A great move as he didn't play for Rubin, another good choice.

Real Madrid continued to play well enough without AJ Kerr, he was as ever on the bench as they thrashed Porto 3-1. Sam Fisher went head to head with Des Tiny as the Romanian made his debut in the Champions League but it was Fisher who had the far better game as his side came away with a 2-1 victory. Joeri Scheerlink travelled to Portugal and at half time his side held a 0-1 lead but just 2 minutes into the second half Super Lampard turned his defender and powered home a strike to inspire his side to eventually win 2-1. AC Milan were missing their star through injury as they tackled Barcelona, the Spainish giants came away with a 0-1 win and Kenco featured although not all that effectively. Ivan Matkovic made the bench which will be an encouraging sign for him. Inter travelled to Germany without the injured Jack Browne and face the task of keeping out the red hot Mario-Luigi van der Bintenstein, they managed just that and came away with a 0-1 win. V.W. Delight watched on from the bench as Liverpool recorded a 0-2 win while Lewis Davies came away with a decent performance but a shock 2-1 loss to Dinamo. Finally Whoopy Dee'e took his Bordeaux side to Germany and dispatched of Wolfsburg 0-2.

First Knockout Round - 2nd Leg

Jack Browne was back for Inter as they welcomed Bayern, once again they kept Mario-Luigi under control and despite an early scare they ran out 2-1 winners and Inter go through. AJ Kerr actually started a game for Real Madrid and he conceded a goal after 21 minutes, luckily for him his side was two goals to the good at that point and they eventually ran out 1-3 winners to progress. Chelsea travelled to Spain in need of a win so it was a bit of a surprise to see Des Tiny on the bench which was where he stayed as Sam Fisher helped his side keep the game goalless and send Sevilla through. V.W. Delight once again sat out Liverpool's game although he won't be too displeased as they went through following a 3-0 win. Sporting's chances were severely lessened by the absence of Super Lampard and Joeri Scheerlink's Atletico made them pay, winning 2-0 and sending the Portuguese side crashing out. Man Utd went into their game trailing but after 50 minutes Lewis Davies struck a dagger to the Dinamo fans hearts as his goal started Utd on their way to a 3-0 win which saw them progress. Charles Beams was back for the trip to Barcelona and despite a good performance his side could only manage a 1-1 draw which wasn't enough. Kenco played 51 minutes of the game and Ivan Matkovic was once again on the bench. Whoopy Dee'e only played 45 minutes but that was enough to see his Bordeaux side through, they ran out 2-0 winners again over Wolfsburg.

Quarter Finals

Bordeaux v Sevilla

1st Leg - Whoopy Dee'e came off at half time again with his side winning 2-0 and despite the best efforts of Sam Fisher it ended 3-0.
2nd Leg - Both Whoopy and Fisher played the full 90 in a 0-0 draw which see's the French side through.

Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

1st Leg - Kenco scored a tap in to put his side 2-0 up, they went on to win 3-0 and Joeri Scheerlink was pretty anonymous throughout.
2nd Leg - Scheerlink and Kenco both played in another boring 0-0 draw, Barcelona are through.

Inter v Man Utd

1st Leg - Mattie Short crossed into the far post for Lewis Davies to power in a header after 9 minutes to level the game but in the end an Eto'o hat-trick was enough to see the Italians run out 4-1 winners with Jack Browne present as ever.
2nd Leg - Jack Browne and Mattie Short were both present when Man Utd took the lead through a surprise Rio Ferdinand goal but the comeback ended there and the game ended 1-1 to see Inter through.

Real Madrid v Liverpool

1st Leg - AJ Kerr sat on the bench for the whole 90 minutes while V.W. Delight managed to play the last 10 minutes of a 0-0 draw.
2nd Leg - V.W. Delight had an average game up front on his own before being subbed in the 2nd half. Albert Riera finally settled the game in the 113th minute of the game and Liverpool go through.

Semi Finals

Inter v Bordeaux

1st Leg - The two central midfielders went head to head and this time it was Dee'e who came out the better, Bordeaux come away with a surprise 1-2 win in Italy
2nd Leg - Jack Browne led his side to victory after another Eto'o goal but it wasn't enough as 0-1 still saw Whoopy Dee'e and Bordeaux through on away goals

Liverpool v Barcelona

1st Leg - Liverpool face another Spainish giant and again V.W. Delight sits it out, Kenco played the whole 90 though and Ivan Matkovic came on to make his Champions League debut in a 0-0 draw.
2nd Leg - A fiery game which both Kenco and Matkovic started, they were both subbed late in the 2nd half before 2 red card were shown, one to each team and eventually Liverpool progress to the final on penalties, V.w. Delight again sat on the bench.

Final

Liverpool v Bordeaux

What had the potential to be a historic day for Whoopy Dee'e turned into a nightmare 40 minutes in, having already been booked for a foul on Gerrard he then tripped Torres and received a 2nd yellow card. The Cameroon international could only watch on as his side struggled to keep Liverpool out and eventually they broke in the 110th minute of extra time Albert Riera won the Champions League for Liverpool. V.W. Delight will no doubt be, wait for it...........delighted despite not playing a minute of the final

Group A - Of the 4 players it was Mr T who had the most disappointing start to the season, only 2 appearances in the competition so far and one of those coming as a sub. Kenco has been a lot more involved, he played all of the first 5 matches before missing the last through injury, despite plenty of game time he's struggled to inspire Standard to anything more than 2 decent results against Porto. Speaking of the Portuguese side, Super Lampard has played 100% of their 6 games but only managed one goal, a long range header in a 1-1 draw with AC. Finally Santi Marquez who has been the star of the group so far, he scored twice in a win over Standard and would've had a hat-trick but for a missed penalty. His other goal turned out to be a crucial one as the French side claimed a 0-1 win in Milan after Marquez' 81st minute winner.

Winners - OM
Runners Up - Ac Milan

Group B - So far this has been all about last years winner V.W. Delight, he started the campaign brightly with 2 goals against Slavia Prague and doubled his tally with another brace against Rangers. He then followed up those performances with a goal in each of the return matches to take his tally to six goals in six games. His old side Liverpool were also in fine form, Fatboy has also played all 6 games and the centre back has 2 goals to his name. The first coming against Rangers and the second a penalty to claim a 0-1 over Wolfsburg. For the other two players it's been an uphill battle, Allan Juel Hansen scored on the opening day against Liverpool but failed to find the net again in his 5 other games and Joe Tompkins was largely ineffective in his 6 games for Slavia Prague.

Winners - Wolfsburg
Runners Up - Liverpool

Group C - It's been a no go for Richard Lipscombe at CSKA, I fear he has fallen victim to a very similar situation that Gunter Hess faced last year. Craig Hopper had no such problems initially, he played 4 times for FC Twente before injury ruled him out for the remaining 2, not that the midfielder had set the World alight. Lewis Davies has done a fine job at left back for Barcelona, usually an attacking player last year he now finds himself tasked with defensive responsibility and he's done a cracking job in all 6 of his matches. Tyler Burrows put on a good showing at Besiktas, only 7 goals conceded in his 6 games and 2 clean sheets to boot, unfortunately the Turkish side still went out.

Winners - Barcelona
Runners Up - CSKA

Group D - This was always going to be dificult for Lawrence Lazewski as he struggles to drag Debercen through a very tough Group, he did his best in the 5 games he played and his only goal of the campaign was enough to earn them a 1-1 draw with Fiorentina in the final match and in doing so winning his side their only point. AJ Kerr wasn't involved as much for Fiorentina, only playing 3 times and he fared little better, conceding 3 times with a goal coming in each game. The other 'keeper in the Group, Mikael Scholer has firmly claimed his place between the sticks for Man Utd, the Dane conceded 8 in his 6 games as he, maybe, looks to follow in the footsteps of a former Man Utd Goalkeeper of similar origin. Finally to Real Madrid and Ihsaan Ahmed, the striker has been in good form scoring 4 times in his 4 outings, however his goal tally may be slightly misleading as he racked up a couple of braces in the games against Debrecen.

Winners - Real Madrid
Runners Up - Man Utd

Group E -Ivan Matkovic is yet to really get into gear with Chelsea, he's played 5 times but only scored a solitary goal, it was the opener in a 1-2 over Olympiakos. On the matter of the Greek side, Whoopy Dee'e played all 6 of their matches but his presence was not enough to inspire them to any sort of herorics like he did with Bordeaux. Fergy on the other hand has been in very good form, he scored against Olypiakos in a 4-0 win and again when the Greek side avenged their loss 3-1. The English striker was also on target against Chelsea in a 1-2 loss taking him to 3 goals in 5 games. Lastly to Sporting where Patty Hitman has been a figure of consitency, playing and playing well in all 6 games but with nothing exceptional as yet.

Winners - Chelsea
Runners Up - Sporting CP

Group F - Gunter Hess will be relieved to learn he played some football for Unirea, not only that but he played 4 times and even came up with a goal in a 3-2 loss to Dinamo. Surprisingly it was only the Austrian to see any action in his Group, the other 3 players are yet to feature.

Winners - Inter
Runners Up - Lyon

Group G -William Hall seems to love this competition, he played brilliantly last season and is doing so again, 6 appearances and an avg rating of 7.58, Sevilla are lucky to have him. Charles Beams hasn't been half bad either, he scored a goal as his side drew with the Spainiards 2-2 and over his 6 games has averaged a 7.22. Des Tiny seems to have found his favourite team to play against, the midfielder picked up a goal in each of the games against Rubin and although he played all 6 games he was largely disappointing for the other four.

Winners - Sevilla
Runners Up - Rubin

Group H - Juventus seem to be getting the best out of Sam Fisher, he's made the left side his own and only missed one game so far, he's also contributed a goal in a 2-3 win in Spain. Mario-Luigi vdB contributed 50% of Levski's goals in this years Champions League in his six games, an impressive sounding stat until you see they only scored 2 goals. Mattie Short failed to find the back of the net in his 4 appearances, however he has contributed 3 assists and his standard of play has been good. Finally to Germany where Bruton Gaster is tearing it up, 3 goals and 4 assists in his 6 games. His goals came in the form of a brace against Atletico Madrid in a crucial win and in a 1-1 draw with Juventus on the final day.

Maz --> AC Milan £15.25m, great move as he didn't play for Rubin so no cup ties to worry about.
Sam Fisher --> Chelsea £20.5m, horrible decision with Juventus still in the comp and he's cup tied.
Gunter Hess --> Manutd £10.25m, a good move if he wasn't cup tied, but he is.
Whoopy Dee'e --> Juventus £13m, as above.
V.W. Delight --> Barcelona FREE, wrecks any chances of winning back to back, was in very good form but is of course cup tied.
Lawrence Lazewski Jr --> Real Madrid £7.25, a good move but once again cup ties will rule him out.

AC Milan 5-1 Sevilla - William Hall played fairly well in both legs, was taken off due to injury 51 minutes into the 2nd leg.

Rubin 1-5 Chelsea - Ivan Matkovic was absent from both games due to injury.

CSKA 1-0 Wolfsburg - Richard Lipscombe played in both games although not particularly well.

Liverpool 2-1 Inter - Was settled 2-1 in the 1st leg, Fatboy played well in both. Scheerlink didn't get off the bench.

Man Utd 5-2 Juventus - A clean sheet in the 1st leg for Mikael Scholer was enough despite conceding in the 2nd leg which Man Utd won 2-3

Lyon 3-2 Barcelona - Shock of the round as Lewis Davies plays well in both games but can't stop his side crashing out. Jack Browne is a regular fixture domestically but can't seem to get in on the CL action.

Sporting CP 1-4 Marseille - Santi Marquez was the hero of the first leg as his goal helped 9 man Marseille claim a 1-1 draw and he took MoM. He also started the scoring in the 3-0 win in the 2nd leg.

Bayern 2-1 Real Madrid - Bruton Gaster scored a crucial goal in the first leg to tie up the game. Arjen Robben did the rest in the 2nd leg.

Quarter Finals

Man Utd 3-4 Bayern - A fairly even first leg in which both Scholer and Gaster were fairly average ended with a 1-2 Bayern Win. Utd fought back in the 2nd leg but it was Bruton Gaster with a 107th minute goal that earnt him MoM and sent his side through.

Chelsea 5-1 Lyon - Ivan Matkovic was involved in both games but it was Drogba who stole the show with 4 goals in the 1st leg.

AC Milan 2-4 Liverpool - Fatboy played OK in the first leg but has since picked up an injury which will see him miss the final should they make it.

Marseille 2-0 CSKA - A goal and MoM in the first leg sent the French side well on their way, they've found a new hero in Santi Marquez.

Semi Finals

Chelsea 3-2 Bayern - Surprisingly it was Ivan Matkovic who got the ball rolling as he scored the opener in the 1st leg, Bruton Gaster was unable to do anything much in that game but came up with an assist in the 2nd leg.

Unbelievably Liverpool have done it again, Fatboy may not have played any part in the final itself thanks to a broken ankle but it's not a season he'll soon forget. Ivan Matkovic has no excuses, he was on the pitch for the entire 120 minutes and had every chance to win his side the game.

What a disastrous draw Bayern had! Easily the toughest group, then Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea in the knockout rounds ffs. How we got to the semifinals I will never know Bruton doing a very good job in both his clubs so far